Derpy Hooves/Friday Afternoon Tea -Ashmanra

Photo Credit: Friday Afternoon Tea

I have a stack of Friday Afternoon Tea blends to try thanks to the generosity of the Sisters! I tried Rue The Day first and really enjoyed the anise in that one. Today I thought I would try this blend with bergamot for breakfast.

First of all, this is a blend of black tea and white. It is said to be “inspired by Pegasus” but I have always pictured Pegasus as all white! And Derpy Hooves appears to be a My Little Pony character, but I know nothing about that fandom so perhaps the mix of these tea types comes from there.

When two teas with really different parameters of steeping are brought together in one blend, it is difficult to know what to do, so I followed the company suggestion…which was a really surprising one to me. I would have made this at 185F in deference to the white tea but they recommend 175F and I behaved and did so.

But the problem I had with this tea is not due to the mix of black and white teas or the difficulty of getting the best notes from each type in the blend. The problem for me is the bergamot. I like the smell of bergamot, and I like blends with bergamot as long as the base is not a super lemony Ceylon.

But this bergamot smells strange.  The flavor is somewhat better than the aroma, especially while I was eating, but honestly I couldn’t handle the aroma without food to cover up that smell. And although it says it contains cream flavor, I didn’t pick up cream at all.

I am glad of the opportunity to try it, and some bergamot lovers out there might dig it, but this one is not for me!


Want to Know More About This Tea?

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Friday Afternoon Tea

Description

Enjoy this creamy black and white tea with delicate pops of floral citrus to keep you steady on those flightier days!

Ingredients: Black tea, white tea, marigold petal, bergamot oil, natural vegan cream flavoring

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Veritaserum/Adagio -ashmanra-

This tea blend designed by Robert Pirlot came in a sampler. There are six different teas in the box, housed in slide-top tins with each tin holding 1/2 ounce of tea. There are more than six Harry Potter fandom blends available, though, and you can choose your own sampler set. I love that!

Veritaserum is a black tea with raspberry, chocolate, and hazelnut flavors. The black tea base is fairly strong with a light briskness, but it is not astringent or unpleasant at all.

Raspberry is the prominent flavor to me, and the chocolate aspect is of the unsweetened variety, not milky and sweet. It lends an additional bottom note to the tea, emphasizing the briskness, making it great for breakfast – I had it today with an Everything Bagel – or to pair with sweets and “cut through the sugar.”

I don’t add milk or sugar to this, but it could definitely handle it and would be delicious that way. Then it would be very dessert-like on its own!


Want to Know More About This Tea?

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Adagio Teas

Description

Veritaserum is clear, colourless, and odourless and is almost indistinguishable from water. The potion must mature for a full lunar phase, and is quite difficult to produce. It can be mixed with any drink, and three drops are a sufficient dose to make the drinker ‘spill out his innermost secrets’. Thus, the potion forces the drinker to tell the complete truth to any question asked to him/her.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Bowcaster Brown/Adagio Teas – Skysamurai-

If Chewbacca drank tea, what would he drink?

We know they drink brandy, which is great mixed with a strong black tea and honey for colds, and can hold their liquor better than many other species.

Perhaps being a brandy loving type they would go for a more oxidized leaf such as this one. It’s simple but has enough caffeine kick to get you going in the morning. The toasted mate rounds it all out nicely while the added flavoring gives the aftertaste a pleasant caramel savoriness.

I can see Chewbacca, having finished his pre-flight duties, sitting in the cockpit waiting for Han while sipping on a cup of this.


Want to Know More About This Tea?

Leaf Type:  Black /Mate

Where to Buy:  Adagio Teas

Description

Caramel mocha, in tea form. Mocha Nut Mate is joined by Tiger Eye and Caramel black teas, resulting in a beverage brimming with dichotomies: familiar but new, caffeinated but chill. This blend is suitably robust, and can be relied upon to get the job done.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

London Fog/Malfoy Tea Emporium

Fellow SororiTea Sister Starling send me a bit of this brew. On the sample bag was the branding sticker of Malfoy Tea Emporium “Betwitching Brews” for every fandom and underneath “London Fog” was handwritten in black ink.

I wasn’t able to locate this specific tea on their lovely Etsy Shop but that isn’t to say it’s not worth a mention!

When I think London Fog…I think a nice, solid medium strength black tea with vanilla and bergamot flavors to accompany the base. This was just the case with this flavored tea I received.

It was delicious! I believe this has been the one and only tea I have tried from Malfoy Tea Emporium and I can’t wait to try additional offerings! I LOVE fandom teas and I appreciate Etsy Shops and here at SororiTea Sisters we always try and help get the word out on either of those!

London Fog…you lift my spirits!


Want to Know More About This Tea?

Leaf Type: Black

Where to Buy:  Malfoy Tea Emporium 

Description

It appears this store is taking a break on Etsy but click below for more information.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

The Cake Is A Lie/Geeky Teas

“The cake is a lie” is a video game reference, specifically Portal. If you aren’t a gamer, do yourself a favor and watch someone play through and enjoy. It is a fun little game. Tell Wheatley I said hi.

There are sprinkles in the blend, which makes the morning start with a little smile, because who can resist smiling at sprinkles?

The tea is a nod to cake, and the aroma captures it pretty well. I don’t fall all over myself in astonishment shouting, “Wow, this is just like cake!” But the aromas of the vanilla and cream flavors call it to mind if you already know what they were aiming for. There is caramel flavor, which I don’t immediately associate with cake but definitely with dessert so it has that going for it, which is nice.

While eating breakfast, this was a good companion. When the food was all gone, the tea became a tad more astringent than I care for, because the black tea base has a little fruitiness on the tart side, like the way lemon tingles your tongue.

I don’t usually add milk and sugar, but for the remaining sips of this mug I added the tiniest splash of milk, which brought it back into my comfort zone. Having tried it that way, I wondered if a sprinkle of sugar would increase the cake element of the tea, but since I don’t care for sugar in my tea, it really didn’t float my Borealis.

If I had this again by itself, separate from a meal or snack, I would definitely go with a splash of milk right up front. No sugar needed for me. With food, it is sufficiently companionable as is and I expect the briskness means it is a good breakfast tea and would please those who like milk and sugar in the morning or just like brisk tea.

Of the two Geek Teas I have tried, I prefer Bad Wolf. But if you like brisk breakfast tea, this one is worth a try for you.


Want to Know More About This Tea?

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Geeky Teas

Description

Black tea, natural vanilla flavor, candy sprinkles, natural creme and caramel flavor.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!